Justice as Fairness

This article is about the 1985 essay. For the 2001 book version, see Justice as Fairness: A Restatement.

"Justice as Fairness: Political not Metaphysical" is an essay by John Rawls, published in 1985. In it he describes his conception of justice. It comprises two main principles of liberty and equality; the second is subdivided into fair equality of opportunity and the difference principle.

Rawls arranges the principles in "lexical priority," prioritizing in the order of the liberty principle, fair equality of opportunity and the difference principle. This order determines the priorities of the principles if they conflict in practice. The principles are, however, intended to form a single, coherent conception of justice (Justice as Fairness) rather than to operate independently. They are consistently applied with the aim of benefiting the least advantaged members of society, ensuring that they are neither harmed nor overlooked.

Rawls originally presented the theory in his 1971 book A Theory of Justice, subsequently expanding upon several of its themes in his later book titled Political Liberalism.

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